


Stork's Guide to Mushi of the World: Torikaze

by ZScalantian



Category: Mushishi
Genre: Fake academic work, Gen, In-Universe Modern era field Guide, Mushi (Mushishi), bestiary
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-29
Updated: 2020-10-29
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:42:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27257377
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZScalantian/pseuds/ZScalantian
Summary: Pgs. 289, 290; Torikaze, from Stork’s Guide to Mushi of the World: Vol. 5: Mushi of Japan.  Copyright 2020.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 10
Collections: Fic In A Box





	Stork's Guide to Mushi of the World: Torikaze

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Gammarad](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gammarad/gifts).



**Pg. 289, 290 from Stork’s Guide to Mushi of the World: Vol. 5: Mushi of Japan. Copyright 2020.**

  
Torikaze/とりかぜ  
Translation; Bird wind  
These bird-like mushi are wind affiliated, causing a brisk wind averaging between 30-50 km/h wherever they fly.

Imagine standing on a beach in the Pacific Ocean or the South China Sea. It’s a clear day with a pleasant breeze, and in the air, you hear a faint whistling. It is this whistling that will let you know you are in the presence of a flock of Torikaze. If you are one of the few capable of seeing or hearing mushi, the whistling may be as prevalent as the sea breeze itself.

For those who cannot see the Torikaze, I will try to describe the scene. The sun is rising and the sand is still cool. A salt spray from gentle waves fills the air. Looking up, their small white bodies are cutting across the lightening sky. Their curved and blade-like wings slice through the air in graceful arcs as the flock flows through the air, heading away from their nightly roosts in windswept trees out to the horizon of sea and sky. Their near-constant flight throughout the day makes them both physically and experientially remote from our earthbound lives. Even so, bending back your neck to see the blue sky and these streamlined mushi gliding about on the breezes they create, you may feel drawn into their world of flight - so much so that when you finally look down, it may take a moment to reorient yourself into the terrestrial world.

Now, while it is still early, take a charter boat, preferably a sailing craft, out into coastal waters. The swift Torikaze skim the water’s surface, plucking aquatic mushi from the sea. Their quick movements across the waters’ surface create small white caps, which sailors refer to as white rabbit waves. Around noon, if your ship is quiet, the Torikaze may rest along its rails or rigging, their constant whistling filling the air with clear notes.

As the day wears on, they will take again to the sky for their evening hunting. When the sun is setting across the distant horizon, the Torikaze gather into groups, calling noisily to each other, forming mega-flocks that fly in undulating formation. Historically, sailors used the evening winds generated by this spectacle to propel their craft home at night. As it gets dark, the flocks swarm above their roost sites, then began to dive into the roost, often in an unbroken steady stream that gives an appearance of the flock “draining” into the trees. A roost may contain anywhere from a few hundred to a quarter of a million Torikaze.

Description  
These mushi superficially resemble white swallows with deeply forked tails, but they have no eyes and no external orifices beside their mouth with its large, horizontal, serrated mandibles. They have what appear to be feathers, longer on the wings and shorter on the body and head, but these are solid, almost fringe-like. Their feet are anisodactyl, like any perching bird’s. They have a 6” wingspan with a rapid shallow wingbeat.

Habitat  
They can be found along the coastlines of volcanic islands in the North Pacific Ocean and the South China Sea. They favor clear weather but have been known to fly in storms, particularly during late winter for breeding.

Range/Migration  
They do not venture far out to sea, often flying within two to three miles off the shore. It theorized that their distribution among the Pacific and Eastern islands comes from individuals caught in the strong winds of typhoons.

Nesting  
Colonial, sometimes in enormous colonies that number into the thousands. Their nests resemble those of mud wasps and are built in the same fashion. A new nest may take over a thousand trips to build. These simple, one-cell, cylindrical nests are attached to crevices, cracks, and corners on cliffs and stone buildings. Nests are often clumped together and are refurbished year after year. 

The Torikaze is very active in defending its nest. At the presence of an intruder, the entire colony will band together, rushing and dive-bombing the perceived threat. Not only are their mandibles exceptionally sharp, but large colonies have been recorded producing strong gusts up to 123km/h. 

Breeding/reproduction  
These mushi spawn synchronously during late winter storms. During a daytime storm, the flock will take to the sky, flying in a synchronized mass. Some who have watched this phenomenon call it a wind dance. (*Note, it is highly unwise to be at sea during a wind dance.) An oily substance is exuded from their bodies, and the whipping wind transfers the oil from one Torikaze to another. After a few hours, they conclude this display and return to their roost. After this, each Torikaze will build or refurbish between six to ten new nests. When each nest is complete, they will lay a single egg in each. Incubation takes twelve to fifteen days. They hatch fully formed and ready to fend for themselves.

Feeding  
They feed in close-knit flocks, diving into the water to seize their prey in their mandibles, up to a reported depth of 10 meters. Their main prey is the Yobiko (Translation: a call that leads astray, or invitation to the work of demons), a black snake-like mushi that makes its home in self-made tunnels rasped out of volcanic rocks and cliffs along the seashore. As their name implies, these mushi can have adverse effects and are best left alone by humans. (See page 436)

Torikaze are diurnal, but their hunting habits tend towards crepuscular, as the Yobiko are nocturnal. They pick off the Yobiko that have not made it back to their rocky warrens at dawn and the first to enter the water at dusk.

Calls  
Phweeeet-Call: A drawn-out, high-pitched whistle with a crisp end; not very loud  
Phweeee-Call: A clear drawn-out, high-pitched whistle; very loud  
Phweeooo-Call: A lightly drawn-out whistle, diminishing to a close  
Phwee-Phweeet-Call: A short call followed by a drawn-out whistle  
Phweeeet-Phwee-Call: A whistle followed by a short crisp call

Unlike bird calls, we still do not know the significance of many mushi calls, including that of the Torikaze.

Afflictions or Uses attributed to these Mushi*  
As the main predator of the Yobiko, they can be used in their eradication. If you encounter an infestation of Yobiko (this may happen anywhere along a coastline with volcanic rock) you can use a rock flute which the Yobiko mushi have carved holes into. To work, the flute must produce a high yet hollow whistling sound. If it is night, lure the Yobiko away from human habitation and back to the volcanic rocks. If it is daylight, play the flute to lure in the Torikaze and they will handle the infestation.

If stuck in a doldrum or in need of extra speed when sailing coastal waters, those who have mastered the rock flute may call the Torikaze to them, raising a brisk wind.

*Please note that interacting with mushi, as stated in the front of this book, is extremely dangerous and only professional mushi-shis should attempt it. The information provided above is for educational purposes only; neither the author nor publisher can be held liable for any incident or injury which may result from use of the information.

Conservation status   
Unfortunately, as few can see mushi and many of their effects can be seen as harmful to humans, there are few conservation plans created with these incredible creatures in mind. This trend is changing, however, as more people take interest in the hidden world. 

According to the WWF, Torikaze are classified as threatened due to noise pollution and habitat loss along coastlines. 

What you can do to help: Follow the signs and keep noise to a minimum when visiting areas where these mushi nest. Avoid buying souvenir rock flutes.

  
Similar Species  
A similar species often found in the same general area is the Yadokaridori (hermit crab bird), also called the Saezurigai (chirping shell). (See page 284)

Though both resemble white birds, Yadokaridori have shorter, vertical beaks, long, curling tails, and round, visible eyes. They are about half the size of the Torikaze.

Both the Torikaze and Yadokaridori rely heavily on communication in their flocks, thus both species are very vocal. The Torikaze has a series of wavering whistles, while the Yadokaridori has high-pitched twitters and chirps. Even a novice can differentiate between the two by judging the length and speed of the calls.

The Yadokaridori also feeds on aquatic mushi, but their prey are smaller than the Yobiko, and they skim them from the surface in long, dipping flights. They do not dive beneath the surface.

Torikaze are found principally in coastal areas, being diurnal and roosting at night in trees, or nesting along coastal cliffs, bridges, and outbuildings in early spring. The Yadokaridori are mainly found quite far out at sea, only coming ashore during nesting season or when under threat, and find shelter in abandoned seashells. 

The Yadokaridori prefer coral or shell sand beaches over the volcanic rock beaches and sea cliffs that the Torikaze call home.

**Author's Note:**

> This was surprisingly fun to write and I hope it works for you. When I was a preteen, I read nature guides for fun instead of YA or chapter books and I hope some of the clarity of those books came out here. 
> 
> I think it would be a lot of fun taking college courses on Mushi, in-universe. I wasn’t sure at first about adding the conservation bit but figured that of course, human actions that have impacted the world would impact the mushi, just as they would impact our lives. 
> 
> The white rabbit wave reference is to a bit of Japanese mythology that I felt like tying into the world of mushi.


End file.
